Chrome For Android – The Ultimate Guide

Google Chrome is the default browser on Android and it has billions of users. This is Chrome Story’s comprehensive guide to Google Chrome for Android.

This article is going help you Download, Install and Set Up Google Chrome for Android. It will also help you learn some of the basic and advanced tips and tricks for using Chrome on Android.

Downloading and Installing Chrome for Android

First thing to do, get your Wifi on, if possible. It is more than a 20MB of download, and then if you need to sync Chrome on your computer, that’s a little more of bandwidth. I think its a good idea to do this using a Wifi network. Don’t you?

Download Google Chrome for Android

Okay, lets get to the first step. Go here and click the “Install” link to start the download of Chrome for Android. This process is exactly like you install any other app on your Android phone. One single mouse click, and that’s it!

Installing Chrome on Android

Like I said, installing Chrome for Android is just one click. If you have started the download of Chrome, it will start installing as soon as downloading is completed. Relax, and wait for it to finish!

Setting Up Chrome on Android

Once Chrome for Android is downloaded to your phone, it will install itself and add a nice little shortcut on your home screen. Touch the app icon and fire it up and that’s all you got to do to install Chrome.

Now, lets get started, setting up the Phone with Chromesync.

Why Sync Chrome for Android?

First thing we need to do is syncing Chrome with your Google Chrome profile on your computer. But I know that many of you will have a question, Why should I use Chrome Sync on Android? What do I get out of it? Let me give you some things to consider.

View Open Tabs

Tabs you have open on Chrome for Windows or MacOS or your Chromebook will sync between all these devices and your Android phone running Chrome. Imagine you are browsing a page on your computer, and you want to step away from your computer, this tab can be opened right on your phone or tablet with Chrome for Android installed and you can pick up the page where you left it.

Now, note that I said “Sync Tabs” not Sync Webpages. What’s the difference?

Well, imagine you opened this website, Chromestory.com on your desktop, and then click on a category archive and then visited a article inside that archive. Now, when this tab syncs to your phone, it will be show the latest page you are on, that is, the article you opened from the archive. Now, press back button of your Chrome on Android, you get the category page on Chromestory.com, yes, just like the tab on your computer.

Sync Bookmarks

Syncing bookmarks between your computer and mobile is a really good idea, and quite useful too. I use this all the time, and trust me, its really good!

Sync Chrome Omnibox Suggestions

Take your omnibox everywhere. Visit a site often on your computer and you’ll get an auto-complete suggestion for it on your phone, so you can spend less time typing.

Send to Phone Feature – A Winner

Send pages from your computer to your phone or tablet with a single click. You can read them on the go, even when you’re offline.

Google Chrome for Android 2.2 and 2.3

Unfortunately, Google Chrome is not available for Android 2.1, 2.2. 2.3 or 3.0 Honeycomb. It is supported only on ICS (Android 4.0) and above.

You might find .apk files available for download elsewhere, claiming to be Chrome for Android 2.3 and 2.3. My advice is not to download such unofficial apk files because they are not verified or tested.

Google Chrome for Android Tablets

Google Chrome for Android works on tablets too. So if you download Chrome for Android or Chrome for Android Beta, you should be able to use the tablet version of Google Chrome. Happy browsing on your Galaxy tab or Nexus 7, or any other tablet that you are using!

(I would love to know about your favorite Android tablet!)

Easter Eggs on Chrome for Android

Okay, if you learned the basics already, let’s take a look at the Easter Eggs on Chrome for Android, to add a little splash of fun to our journey.

1. Open the Chrome app (Android) 2. Press the open tabs button. 3. Flick up on the tab(s) five times 4. See what happens!

Another interesting thing you can do is, (if you got time) open more than 99 tabs on Chrome for Android and you will see this!

cool uh? Did you find any other Easter Eggs?

Chrome For Android Needs Bookmarks Bar? Here Is How To Make One

Looking for that bookmarks bar on Chrome for Android? There is a little hack that you can do to get something similar on Android version of Chrome. I wrote about it here.

Chrome for Android L Release Open Tabs in Recent Apps Menu

The upcoming release for Android, named “L” for now, includes open tabs in Chrome in the recent apps menu. This means, you do not have to open Chrome and touch on more icon to see your open tabs. You can simply touch your recent apps icon, and it will list all your open Chrome tabs along with other apps.

Sharing from Android Made Easy

Android makes it easy to share content between apps. It gives a lot of flexibility, but if you have plenty of apps installed, the list of apps that show up when you touch “share” can be a long one. Chrome for Android recently added a neat feature making it easy to share content to your favorite app. Your last used app shows up right next to share.

Chrome for Android Remote Desktop App

The Chromoting or Chrome Remote Desktop app is now available for Android as well. You can use this app to connect to your Windows PC or Mac. Read more about settin this up here.

Chrome for Android Tip – “Find in Page” Easily

Start typing in the omnibox just like you enter a new web address or search term.

Touch the first option, which comes with a magnifying glass icon

Here, take a look:

Bandwidth management – Disable Webpages Preload

Webpage preloading is a very useful feature of Chrome for Android but it can become a problem if you are worried about your data usage. So how do you disable it or may be optimize it for careful usage?

Touch Menu > Settings > Bandwidth management.

Touch Preload webpages.

Select the following:

Always allow Chrome to preload webpages.

Only on Wi-Fi Chrome can preload webpages.

Never preload any webpages.

ENABLE OR DISABLE AUTOFILL

Touch Menu > Settings.

Slide the Autofill switch to the On or Off on.

MANAGE YOUR AUTOFILL ENTRIES

Touch Menu > Settings.

Touch Autofill.

Add a new street address by touching “Add address”.

Add a new credit card by touching “Add credit card”.

Edit an entry by touching it on the list. Touch Save when you have finished updating.

Delete an entry by touching it on the list. Touch Delete to remove the entry.

CLEAR ALL YOUR AUTOFILL ENTRIES

TouchÂ Menu > Settings.

In the “Under the hood” section, touch Clear browsing data.

Choose Clear autofill data checkbox.

Touch Clear.

Save passwords

You can let Chrome remember your passwords for the sites you use.

ENABLE OR DISABLE SAVE PASSWORDS

Touch Menu > Settings.

Slide the “Save passwords” to the On or Off position.

MANAGE PASSWORD PROMPTS

If you let Chrome save your passwords, yo will get a prompt every time when you sign in to a new website.

Touch Yes, if you want Chrome to remember your sign-in credentials. Chrome will automatically complete the sign-in fields for you when you visit the websites again.

Touch Never, if you don’t want Chrome to save your username and password for the website you are on.

DELETE A SAVE PASSWORD

Touch Menu > Settings > Save passwords.

Choose the saved password that you want to remove.

Touch Delete.

CHANGE PASSWORD SETTINGS FOR SPECIFIC SITES

Touch Menu > Settings > Save passwords

Choose the site that you want to remove from the Never saved list.

Touch Delete.

Clear Browsing Data – Your Cache and Cookies

Touch Menu >Settings.

In Under the Hood, touch Clear browsing data.

Choose the data type you want to clear.

Touch Clear

A Few More Items!

Accept cookies. Allow sites to save and read cookies data. Many webpages store, read, and update files called cookies on your mobile device, for your convenience. For example, some password-protected sites use cookies so you donâ€™t have to sign in each time you visit. Other sites use cookies to remember your preferences. Uncheck to prevent webpages from storing cookies on your mobile device.

Enable JavaScript. Allow sites to run JavaScript. Many web developers use JavaScript to make their websites more interactive. Sites may function correctly only if they can run JavaScript on your mobile device.

Website settings. Touch this to review any site that has granted permission to use any local storage.

Google Chrome Android Tips and Tricks

Google Chrome for Android is feature rich. Sometimes I feel that there is too much going on there. When there are too many features for this little browser on your mobile or tablet, how do you keep track of them? My answer? Make a list!

That’s exactly what I am doing here. I am trying to make a list of useful tips and tricks for Chrome on Android. Go ahead drop me a comment if you know of anything cool that is not included here.